Michael McDonough
Cinematographer, also producer · Born January 1, 1967 (59) · Paisley, Scotland, UK
Michael McDonough (born 1967) is a Scottish cinematographer and director.
Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1967 (59)
- Paisley, Scotland, UK
- Cinematographer, also producer
- 31 on MovieCove · 36 credits in all
What are Michael McDonough's films like?
Across their 21 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 19
Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 14
Grounded 16 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0
Gentle 4 · Charged 9 · Intense 7
Steady 11 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 16 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1
Slow burn 12 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 1
Casual 7 · Engaged 12 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 13
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 10 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet14
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Michael McDonough's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 25 of their 31 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (13).
- Bowling for Columbine (2002) · camera operator · free
- Starred Up (2013) · cinematographer · free
- Winter's Bone (2010) · producer, cinematographer · free
- Down to the Bone (2004) · cinematographer · free
- Sunset Song (2015) · cinematographer · free
- Diggers (2006) · cinematographer · free
- Quid Pro Quo (2008) · cinematographer · free
- New York, I Love You (2008) · cinematographer · free
- Burning Bright (2010) · cinematographer · free
- 13 (2010) · cinematographer · free
- Bitter Feast (2010) · cinematographer · free
- Darling Companion (2012) · cinematographer · free
- +1 more
- Bosch (2014) · director, cinematographer
- Winter's Bone (2010) · producer, cinematographer
- Elsa & Fred (2014) · cinematographer
- Fear the Walking Dead (2015) · director, cinematographer
- Tatort (1970) · cinematographer
- New York, I Love You (2008) · cinematographer
- 13 (2010) · cinematographer
- The Babysitters (2007) · cinematographer
- Lay the Favorite (2012) · cinematographer
- Lionsgate+, show their 3 titles on Lionsgate+
- Magnolia Selects, show their 3 titles on Magnolia Selects
- Cinemax, show their 2 titles on Cinemax
- Howdy, show their 2 titles on Howdy
- Cineverse, show their title on Cineverse
- MHz Choice, show their title on MHz Choice
- Monsters and Nightmares, show their title on Monsters and Nightmares
- MovieSphere+, show their title on MovieSphere+
- ViX, show their title on ViX
Subscription and free streaming for Michael McDonough's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
36 credits, 31 with a MovieCove page.
Happy Hours(2026)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Untamed(2025)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows
The Decameron(2024)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows
Lou(2022)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Mayor of Kingstown(2021)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
Leave No Trace(2018)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Sunset Song(2015)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Fear the Walking Dead(2015)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all shows
Bosch(2014)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Starred Up(2013)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Elsa & Fred(2014)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Lay the Favorite(2012)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Darling Companion(2012)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Albert Nobbs(2011)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Higher Ground(2011)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
The Mortician(2011)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
The Shore (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Burning Bright(2010)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Bitter Feast(2010)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Winter's Bone(2010)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
13(2010)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Camp Hell(2010)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
New York, I Love You(2008)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Quid Pro Quo(2008)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
The Babysitters(2007)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
Diggers(2006)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Down to the Bone(2004)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
This So-Called Disaster(2003)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Bowling for Columbine(2002)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Upheaval (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Snake Feed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Ties to Rachel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Retro Sheilas in Space Aliens are Tooling our Sheilas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Tatort(1970)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 33 titles from 1970 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Winter's Bone (2010)
Highest rated
Starred Up (2013)
Most popular right now
Winter's Bone (2010)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Michael McDonough's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 54th percentile, the median of all 24; across their 20 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th9
- 25th to 49th8
- Below 25th7
Shape of the crowd
14 of their 31 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved3
- Loved with Detractors1
- Crowd Pleaser10
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed14
Reviewers score the cinematography 62/100 in their films, across 15 reviewed titles; fans 69, detractors 49. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Michael McDonough's work okay for kids?
Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Michael McDonough work with?
People who share at least 2 of Michael McDonough's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Debra Granik shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Debra GranikShared titles: Leave No Trace (2018), Winter's Bone (2010), Down to the Bone (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Debra Granik
- Carlos BrooksShared titles: Burning Bright (2010), Quid Pro Quo (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Carlos Brooks
Writers
- Anne RoselliniShared titles: Leave No Trace (2018), Winter's Bone (2010), Down to the Bone (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Anne Rosellini
Actors
- Vera FarmigaShared titles: Higher Ground (2011), Quid Pro Quo (2008), Down to the Bone (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Vera Farmiga
- Dale DickeyShared titles: Leave No Trace (2018), Winter's Bone (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Dale Dickey
- Isaiah StoneShared titles: Leave No Trace (2018), Winter's Bone (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Isaiah Stone
- Wendell PierceShared titles: Elsa & Fred (2014), The Mortician (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Wendell Pierce
Composers and editors
- Dickon HinchliffeShared titles: Leave No Trace (2018), Winter's Bone (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Dickon Hinchliffe
- David CharapShared titles: Sunset Song (2015), The Mortician (2011)See all 2 shared titles with David Charap
- Malcolm JamiesonShared titles: Diggers (2006), Down to the Bone (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Malcolm Jamieson
Producers
- Aaron L. GilbertShared titles: Leave No Trace (2018), Elsa & Fred (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Aaron L. Gilbert
- Jason HewittShared titles: Elsa & Fred (2014), The Mortician (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Jason Hewitt
- Andrew BoswellShared titles: Starred Up (2013), The Mortician (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Boswell
- Jonathan ScheuerShared titles: Winter's Bone (2010), Down to the Bone (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Jonathan Scheuer